Favorite Books

When it comes to books I adhere to the axiom, So many books, so little time, which explains why we squeeze six authors into each monthly “Author! Author!” show – including two or three fiction writers. Discovering a novelist I’ve not read before is a surprising treat, like slipping on my winter coat for its first wearing during another winter season and finding money in the pocket. I love that.

My “Favorite Authors’ List” continues to grow, but when I’m looking for something to read for pleasure, I frequently go back to a previously read friend. And even though I know how the story begins, develops and ends, it doesn’t matter. It’s still delicious. Just as I never tire of eating a good Bolognese sauce, the mushroom pizza at 800 Degrees, Reese cups and molasses bread, there are books that I savor again and again.

Here are a few:

The Mitford Series by Jan Karon

This former ad executive literally packed up her belongings and left the world of public relations, moving to a charming North Carolina town to write. After a failed attempt at trying to craft a story that captured her own heart, Jan had a dream about an Episcopal priest and a big galoot of a dog. I’ve read through this series that acts as a cleansing, sweet rain on my soul, several times – and I plan on visiting my Mitford friends, including Father Tim, Dooley, Cynthia and Barnabas the dog, this summer.

Pascal’s Wager by Nancy Rue

“Either God exists, or He does not,” wrote seventeenth century mathematician Blaise Pascal. In each life, he observed, “a coin is being spun which will come down heads or tails. Let us weigh the consequences involved in calling heads that God exists. If you win, you win everything but if you lose, you lose nothing.” Nancy Rue spins a heartbreaking, exhilarating and laugh-out-loud funny story out of Pascal’s very famous proposition. It involves a brilliant mathematician, Jill McGavock; her mother, who is slipping away due to an Alzheimer’s-like disease; and a philosophy professor, Sam Bakalis, who challenges Jill to try living as if God exists.

My reading friend, Laurie Nichols, turned me on to this book. I’ve even used Sam’s answers to tough questions about God (How can we know God exists? When disease steals our minds, do we lose our humanity?) in real-life conversations.

Don’t let the fact the main character is a mathematician, turn you off. Yes, there are discussions about mathematical theories, but they’re interesting and informative, and develop and drive the plot. . If there was an award for “Most Math Challenged Person in the United States,” I would win, hands down. The fact I was drawn into the story speaks to Nancy Rue's skill as a writer. When I interviewed Nancy about her book, she told me she is horrible at math, easily befuddled by it, and more than a little surprised by how well Pascal's Wager turned out! 

Want a few more suggestions? Try Quaker Summer, The Passion of Mary-Margaret, or anything else by Lisa Samson; Jerusalem by Ellen Gunderson Traylor; Madman (the story of the Gerasene demoniac) by Tracy Groot; and the delightful 84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff.

What are some of your favorite books? Tell me! And if you do read any of my suggestions, I’d love to know what you think about them.